*~Chapter Seventeen: Forgiveness Unmasked~*

Several days had passed. They were difficult ones for Marty. She was doing her best to come to terms with her feelings for both Jason and Todd. Jason was a good friend - the best, but he wasn't Todd. No one was Todd. He had her heart. Marty knew she had to tell Jason, but there was no easy way.

it was breaking her heart because Jason was her dearest friend. He had taken care of her and Cassandra when she was lost and in need, but Marty knew that she had to tell him goodbye. She knew she needed to be with Todd... and he needed her and their little girl, too.

One day she finally got the courage and she told Jason the news. "Jason, I am sorry, but I have to follow my heart..." she started, but Jason cut her off.

He said, "I knew you were going to choose Todd."

"I am sorry I hurt you," she said. "But I love him, Jason. I love him SO damn much that it's killing me. I honestly cannot bear to live another day without him."

"Fine! Go to him!" Jason said angrily.

"We will always be friends," Marty said softly. "You mean so much to me. I appreciate everything you've done for Cassandra and me. I will never forget it."

She reached up to press a tender kiss upon Jason's cheek, then she quietly left the kitchen. She didn't look back. She was on a mission - a mission to be reunited with the man she loved.

She grabbed her bags in which she had packed and left in the hallway. She hardly gave the small home where she had lived with Jason a second glance. She was returning to Todd with Cassandra in her arms. She knew it was meant to be.

It was a relatively short drive to Todd's Victorian mansion, but to Marty, it seemed like forever. Her heart was thumping in anticipation as the taxi cab pulled up in the circular driveway.

"We're home!" Cassandra exclaimed as Marty helped her daughter out of the back of the taxi.

"Yes, we are," Marty said as she gave her little girl a big smile.

Cassandra helped Marty carry their luggage to the door. A moment later, Marty was preparing to knock... but before she could, the door opened, and there stood a stunned Todd. "Marty, what...?" he began to speak, but his voice broke and he couldn't even finish.

Marty was crying as she slipped into Todd's embrace. He didn't know it at first, but she was shedding tears of joy. "I'm home," she said before she kissed him.

As their lips met, Todd suddenly knew. He knew that Marty and Cassandra had come home to him.

Todd was overflowing with happiness, but even so, he had to ask the question. "Do you forgive me?" His voice was barely a whisper.

There were no words. Tears flowed as Marty nodded.

And for both of them, there was nothing more to forgive.

THE END